April 5, 2023

Serving Two Masters

Lawrence Vance is a libertarian columnist whose pet peeve is the militarization of the church. His latest column “Serving Two Masters” stands out; No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon- Matthew 6:24. Vance confronts the reader with the question: “Has the Christian Church in America merged killing with righteousness?”

Since the time of Oliver Cromwell in England (AD 1600s), segments of the church has embraced the Old Testament as a model for righteousness. Jesus was aware of the Jewish mindset to hate their enemy and to kill them in the name of God. No doubt his words spoken in the Sermon on the Mount sent shockwaves through the audience: “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;”-Mt. 5:44.

Vance poses the question using his review of Chaplain John McDougall’s book: Jesus Was an Airborne Ranger: Find Your Purpose Following the Warrior Christ. McDougall is stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord at Tacoma, Washington. He is a West Point graduate, a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, an Airborne Ranger, and is now an Army chaplain.

McDougal’s book irritates Vance because he fuses his mission as a former Army Ranger with his calling as a chaplain. McDougall is proud of his militarily calling and tells his fellow soldiers that “they were being used by God to fulfill the mission on earth to rid the world of evil,” and they were on, “God’s side.” McDougall describes Jesus as (in his words) a “Warrior Christ [who was] was a bad*** who calls us to vigorously advance his kingdom—as spiritual bad*****—in our homes, communities, and world.”

McDougal puts the picture of a Ranger in front of the reader as an illustration of who Jesus was, how he lived his life, and what he calls his followers to do – “An Airborne Ranger executes daring missions to rescue humanity at the cost of his own life. That’s exactly what Jesus does for us.”

This problem/concept is as old as mankind itself: Is killing another human being on orders from one’s government justifiable in God’s eyes? The Old Testament Jews said yes and the New Testament Jesus said no. The early church was totally and utterly pacifist and refused to serve in the Roman Legions. Untold thousands of Christians were persecuted and many killed for their commitment to nonviolence and peace. Many historians credit the Christian church with bringing down the Roman Empire.

Recall John Wesley’s Three Rules To Live By: Do no harm: Do good: Stay in love with God! The good found in the Gospel is the Good News that God loves all of humanity, and Jesus demonstrated that love. He personified do no harm and doing Good.

There is a line from the movie High Noon that I have never forgotten. The town Marshall goes to the church to seek volunteers for a posse. Dr. Mahin the minster replies: “The commandments say ‘Thou shalt not kill,’ but we hire men to go out and do it for us. The right and the wrong seem pretty clear here. But if you’re asking me to tell my people to go out and kill and maybe get themselves killed, I’m sorry. I don’t know what to say. I’m sorry.”

Vance says killing in the name of God is wrong, Period! What do you say?

God’s peace and blessings.